Jewish History: A Very Short Introduction

David N. Myers

Description

How have the Jews survived? For millennia, they have defied odds by overcoming the travails of exile, persecution, and recurring plans for their annihilation. Many have attempted to explain this singular success as a result of divine intervention. In this engaging book, David N. Myers charts the long journey of the Jews through history. At the same time, it points to two unlikely-and decidedly this-worldly—factors to explain the survival of the Jews: antisemitism and assimilation. Usually regarded as grave dangers, these two factors have continually interacted with one other to enable the persistence of the Jews. At every turn in their history, not just in the modern age, Jews have adapted to new environments, cultures, languages, and social norms. These bountiful encounters with host societies have exercised the cultural muscle of the Jews, preventing the atrophy that would have occurred if they had not interacted so extensively with the non-Jewish world. It is through these encounters—indeed, through a process of assimilation—that Jews came to develop distinct local customs, speak many different languages, and cultivate diverse musical, culinary, and intellectual traditions.

Left unchecked, the Jews' well-honed ability to absorb from surrounding cultures might have led to their disappearance. And yet, the route toward full and unbridled assimilation was checked by the nearly constant presence of hatred toward the Jew. Anti-Jewish expression and actions have regularly accompanied Jews throughout history. Part of the ironic success of antisemitism is its malleability, its talent in assuming new forms and portraying the Jew in diverse and often contradictory images—for example, at once the arch-capitalist and revolutionary Communist. Antisemitism not only served to blunt further assimilation, but, in a paradoxical twist, affirmed the Jew's sense of difference from the host society. And thus together assimilation and antisemitism (at least up to a certain limit) contribute to the survival of the Jews as a highly adaptable and yet distinct group.

Jewish History: A Very Short Introduction

David N. Myers

Author Information

David N. Myers is the Sady and Ludwig Kahn Professor of Jewish History at UCLA. He is the author of numerous books and articles in the field of Jewish history, with a particular focus on modern Jewish intellectual history.

Jewish History: A Very Short Introduction

David N. Myers

Reviews and Awards

"David Myers's Jewish History: A Very Short Introduction, proves to be a valuable piece of literature, as well as a helpful guide for those who are searching for answers without a large investment. Although short, this introductory guide to Jewish history is nevertheless a fruitful body of scholarly work." - Madison Tarleton, Reading Religion

"Myers has managed to capture the vast sweep of Jewish history without sacrificing its substance or its nuance, all the way from the ancient Israelites we encounter in the Bible to the modern Jewish communities in which we live now." - Jonathan Kirsch, Jewish Journal

Jewish History: A Very Short Introduction

David N. Myers

From Our Blog

To a great extent, Jews have realized the promise of Washington's America. They have been much admired, in no small part because of the belief that they are the progenitors of the biblical spirit on which America was built. It was this recognition that prompted Washington's successor, John Adams, to declare of the Jews in 1808: 'They are the most glorious nation that ever inhabited this Earth."

How have the Jews survived over the centuries? This is a question that has intrigued and perplexed many. While powerful world empires have risen and fallen, this miniscule, largely stateless, and often despised group has managed to ward off countless threats to its existence and survive for millennia. In seeking to answer the question, a wide range of theological, political, and sociological explanations have been proffered.